Great Barrington – A grassroots group of Berkshire area residents have come together to begin raising money to purchase the Triplex Cinema and operate it as a nonprofit cinema and education center.
Community organizer and film lover, Nicki Wilson, organized meetings at her home in Great Barrington on Saturday, April 1, and Sunday, April 2 to discuss options and strategies. The decision to mobilize the community in order to buy the cinema and operate it as a nonprofit for the benefit of the area was unanimous.
The immediate plan is to form a nonprofit and raise the required money to ultimately purchase the cinema from longtime owner Richard Stanley who has stood by the Triplex through the Covid-19 pandemic and all the challenges to the movie industry but has determined it is time to move on.
Stanley was in initial discussions with Cinema Lab, a New Jersey-based company, that sought to lease and operate the cinema. In recent days, it was reported that the deal could not be completed until a remaining amount was raised by the community. The community group at Wilson’s weekend meetings concluded that it would better serve area residents to purchase the business outright and run it as a nonprofit, allowing complete control to remain locally.
Without any action, Stanley has stated that the Triplex will close on June 1, 2023.
At the initial meetings at Wilson’s home, one resident of the community said a common refrain often heard since the news broke was “The Triplex is the heart and soul of the community.” Nancy DuVall, a member of the community for more than 60 years, observed: “I cannot imagine this town without a cinema.” Claude Borenzweig left the Sunday meeting saying, “So many things are eroding away, we want to save something when we can.” As a nonprofit cinema and education center, exciting and new programming could be established to keep and deepen the vital connection between the cinema and the Berkshires.
The first step is to buy the cinema. The group aims to raise the required amount to purchase the cinema and additional sums for renovation and early operations. The group is building a business plan by engaging experts plus former and current employees for planning purposes and to operate the cinema once the purchase is completed.
This amount of money and time required is no small feat, but with the initial overwhelming support since news regarding the closing, it is undeniable that the Triplex is an essential part of the Berkshire community. Stanley says, “I have a fervent wish that the Triplex continue on and believe that it needs to be a community-supported entity.” Wilson reports that Stanley is bowled over by the support and outreach from the community.
The incorporation of a nonprofit cinema follows a pattern in the area. Local cinemas in Chatham and Millerton, N.Y., and Williamstown have all been purchased by the community and are now successfully run as nonprofits.
Ethan Klepetar at Arienti Klepetar LLP will be the legal counsel for the Save the Triplex campaign. The Save the Triplex campaign will be announcing specifics for its fundraising within the next 10 days. For more information please contact the group at savethetriplex@gmail.com.
